A catalogue of the Ashmolean's collection of Japanese paintings by Janice Katz (published Oxford, 2003).
Little is known of the life of Oku Bunmei, except that he was one of the most talented pupils of the celebrated painter Maruyama Ōkyo. He displayed extraordinary control over the ink on his brush, seen here in the curling tendrils of the gourd plant. A master at transferring his careful observation of nature onto paper, he uses the minutest touch of bright yellow for the centre of the flower to enhance his variations in ink tone on the leaves, stems, and fruit.
Katz, Janice, Japanese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, with an introductory essay by Oliver Impey (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2003), no. 25 on p. 98, p. 84, illus. pp. 98-99
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